The first reviews for the new Scream movie are shockingly great

'The closest to the brilliance, excitement and horror of the 1996 original masterpiece.'

A long-delayed sequel. A long-delayed horror sequel. A long-delayed horror sequel released in January. A long-delayed horror sequel released in January with a same-as-the-original movie title. You would be forgiven that the evidence was mounting up that 2022's Scream might be the year's first critical dud. However, you'd be wrong, if early word is to be believed. First up, in case you didn't know, the fifth entry in the Scream franchise arrives in Irish cinemas on Friday, 14 January. Check out the trailer right here: The plot is still being kept pretty top secret, but it involves the central trio - Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette - returning to the murderous fold when another Ghostface copycat killer starts violently offing victims that are somehow connected to the original movies. Normally, you'd have to take early reactions with a pinch of salt, as the social reviews are coming from those who are usually just pretty hyped about getting to see a big, new movie earlier than anyone else. However, the shared sentiment across pretty much of all of the reactions online are that (A) it is arguably the best entry since the original Scream, and (B) the writing is top-notch. The Scream movies have been imbued with smart, self-aware scripting (even when the finished movies themselves didn't match that quality), so for the script to be getting a special shout-out here is pretty impressive. Here are just some of the early reactions that were posted ahead of the movie's worldwide release next week: https://twitter.com/TheOnlyCritic/status/1479271588222676993?s=20 https://twitter.com/ErikDavis/status/1479271622922153987?s=20 https://twitter.com/PNemiroff/status/1479274105350209536?s=20 https://twitter.com/colliderfrosty/status/1479273424924991489?s=20 https://twitter.com/KevinMcCarthyTV/status/1479271655990042624?s=20 https://twitter.com/ShowbizSimon/status/1479272947571249155?s=20 Clip via Paramount Pictures UK